A friend of mine has a very well-worn example of the Leica 35mm f/1.4 ASPH 11874 (pre-FLE) that he let me use for a couple of seconds a few years ago.
Chris by Jim Fischer, on Flickr
Leica M5, Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux ASPH 11874, Eastman-5222, Xtol 1:1.
I really, really liked the lens ergonomically and the result from this very small sample size had me dreaming ever since (the sharpness and sparkle combined with the less-than-class-leading coatings...which is actually a plus for me).
Well, I snagged a near mint copy off the buy and sell board and I'm trying to figure out how much I like it (buyer's remorse?). I definitely need to give it more time. But, it doesn't appear to have the same degree of resolving power as the one I briefly used from my friend. Also, it's probably just me (only a faulty workman blames his tools), missing focus...
Well, I snagged a near mint copy off the buy and sell board and I'm trying to figure out how much I like it (buyer's remorse?). I definitely need to give it more time. But, it doesn't appear to have the same degree of resolving power as the one I briefly used from my friend. Also, it's probably just me (only a faulty workman blames his tools), missing focus...
I've had like 6 copies of the pre FLE. Lot of variation on that lens. First thing I'd check is centering, then calibration with the RF and see what aperture it's optimized for. Do you have a digital M? Would be the best way to check.
lifeandmylens wrote:
I've had like 6 copies of the pre FLE. Lot of variation on that lens. First thing I'd check is centering, then calibration with the RF and see what aperture it's optimized for. Do you have a digital M? Would be the best way to check.
6 copies! Dang! I'm like Huss - I just buy things and forget to sell them...even if I am not totally happy with them.
I don't have a digital M. I could only check centering on my A7RII. It is not perfectly centered, but it's probably good enough for film...
I tried emailing Leica to see if they would CLA (and attempt to re-center the lens) and adjust focus to be on at 1.4. As one could expect from such an organized...er, organization...they did not respond to my email.
_jim_ wrote:
I tried emailing Leica to see if they would CLA (and attempt to re-center the lens) and adjust focus to be on at 1.4. As one could expect from such an organized...er, organization...they did not respond to my email.
I bet Youxin Ye could do that work (https://www.yyecamera.com/). He did a great CLA of my 1958 dual-range Summicron last year, removing all the haze etc.
I tried emailing Leica to see if they would CLA (and attempt to re-center the lens) and adjust focus to be on at 1.4. As one could expect from such an organized...er, organization...they did not respond to my email.
Roll 172: Isolette II Solinar f/3.5 (at various apertures) with HP5 and Rodinal. An artsy/fartsy roll after several test rolls to re-characterize my usual film stocks in a Simma roller to fix the uneven development issues I saw with intermittent agitation. So far so good. This roll was mainly to check the new to me camera for obvious issues and to see if I can try guessing focus as the external rangefinder I bought is garbage.
Thank you
